We Are Poor Little Souls
by Destiny's Call
Summary: Five children went missing long ago. And now, they're angry and out for vengeance. But when they spare the life of the new security guard, friendships are made, secrets are revealed, and danger closes in threatening to destroy all they know.
1. Prologue: The Third Night

"Bonnie… Bonnie… Bonnie's in the Dining Room. Chica… Restrooms. Freddy's onstage. Check Pirate Cove." I flicked through the monitors with lightning speed. If people watched me do this job without hearing the context, they'd think me crazy and some may say that it was as if my life depended on it. It did.

I had four killer animatronics after me, trying to stuff me into a suit that would kill me iron-maiden style. "Bonnie's in the West Hall. Chica's moved." I flicked to the broken kitchen camera and listened. "She's in the Kitchen. Freddy hasn't moved. Check Pirate Cove."

The job wasn't supposed to be this hard when I first took it. Be a night guard at a local pizzeria where kids' dreams come true! Yeah, yeah, bullshit. I mean, yes, it might be nice during the day, despite the place's reputation, but I was here at night. With killer robots. Thank god this was my third night. Halfway there. But the night was still young.

I flicked back through the monitors in my usual pattern. First, I looked for Bonnie, a purple rabbit who was my most frequent visitor. Then Chica, a yellow chick, who came less often, but stuck around longer. Then, I checked for Freddy, who so far hadn't moved my entire week. Then I checked Pirate's Cove, where some other animatronic was. I don't know what. He ran so fast, his place was out of order, and I could only spare a passing glance as I rapidly flipped through the cameras. "…Check Pirate's Cove." The animatronic was now peeking out of the curtain. "Shit," I muttered. Then I flicked on the hall lights. Bonnie was at my door. I slammed the door button, shutting the door and keeping him out. Chica was still only in the East Hall.

So far, the night had gone without a hitch. Then I heard some kind of strange, deep laugh. I checked the halls for Bonnie and Chica. Both were gone, so I opened the left door and flipped through the monitors. "Bonnie's backstage. Chica's still in the East Hall. Freddy… Where's Freddy?!" I started running through the monitors faster, panicking. Finally, I found him in the Dining Room. He was hiding in the dark, only small pinpricks of his eyes showing. "Check Pirate Cove." I muttered.

It was empty. "Dammit, dammit, dammit!" I heard fast footsteps running toward me. I flung myself at the door switch. I smacked the door closed. Just after the animatronic got in. **SCREEEE! **I collapsed to my knees, almost fainting as it screamed at me. A cold, metallic hand grabbed my shirtfront, pulling me up so my feet couldn't reach the floor. And then… nothing. It was so quiet I could hear my heart pounding in my ears.

Finally, I gathered the courage to look up at my attacker. It was a fox. That's what the animatronic was. Some kind of pirate-themed fox. It was red, with a black eye patch over one of its yellow eyes. Its jaw hung loosely, broken, with sharp teeth. As I evaluated it, it evaluated me.

It spoke. "A lass?"

The fox set me down without another word, opened the door, and left. My heart still pounded wildly, and I could barely breathe.

"I'm… I'm alive…" I gasped. How was that possible? The fox had grabbed me. I was supposed to be in the storage room backstage now, getting my guts squeezed out. Not sitting in the corner of my office, alone.

Some chimes started going off. What? Already? It'd been three when I was charged. I'd been sitting here like a sitting duck for three hours, and nothing had come for me. I went to my laptop, turned off the alarm. It was definitely six.

I left the office and went through the dining hall to the front door. The main animatronics were just standing on their stage, frozen, as if nothing had happened. The curtains of the Pirate Cove were closed, no doubt its occupant inside there somewhere. I kept moving. But as I left the building, I swore the curtains rustled slightly, and it felt like someone was watching me.


	2. Chapter 1: No Hard Feelings?

I came to work the next night. I know, I know. I'd just had a face-to-face encounter with death, I was likely traumatized, I must've been crazy to go back to work. Honestly, I wasn't not crazy. I really needed the money.

So on Thursday, I went back to the pizzeria. Inside, the manager was waiting for me. "Hello, Miss Thompson," he said.

"Mr. Crawn. How nice to see you." I replied. Mr. Crawn was a short man, but gaunt and pale, like a corpse. He had blond hair parted to the side, and a permanent sneer on his face.

"How has your job been going, Miss Thompson? Any troubles to report?"

I kept my poker face on, looked him right in the eye, and said, "Nothing, sir."

"Very well. Move along."

I walked to the office, passing by the kitchen.

"Hey! Alexis!"

I jumped and turned to see one of the cooks, Benny, waving at me. "I got something for ya!"

"It's Lexi." I said, rolling my eyes. He just kept beckoning, so finally I gave in to see what he wanted from me.

When I got over to him, he pulled out a personal pizza. "We had extra. I figured the new girl would like some."

I blushed slightly. "Gee… thanks, Benny." I looked up at him to see him smiling at me.

And then he realized the closeness. "Don't get any ideas, Alexis. I don't swing your way, remember?"

"With how long you've been single, you don't swing _any_ way!" Someone farther back yelled. I laughed. Benny rolled his eyes.

"Well, I gotta go. Thanks for the pizza, Ben." And I went back to the office which may soon carry my doom.

My pizza went untouched for twenty minutes as I scanned the cameras. But the animatronics didn't move. They didn't even twitch. So I let my guard down and started eating. Halfway through, I heard footsteps from the West Hall. Not the sound of the fox charging at me. Just calm footsteps. But just to be safe, I closed the door and kept eating. And that's when they knocked.

It wasn't the usual pounding. It was the usual knock you'd hear when someone was looking for you and came to your door. I set down the last bits of pizza and turned on the hall light. Standing there was the fox.

Seeing it peer into the window caused enough of a fright that I fell over. Then I heard a voice. "Sorry, lass. Not tryin' ta scare ya."

I got back on my feet. What do I do now? There was a killer robot outside my door. But he apologized. And none of them seemed very aggressive tonight. So, against most common sense, I opened the door.

The fox walked in, the most unthreatening I'd ever since. At least since I took the job.

"I tol' the others ye be a lass. Tha's why they're no' comin' fer ya."

"What does me being a girl have to do with anything?"

"It means yer no' _him_."

Okay, well, that was specific. I changed the subject. "Who are you?"

"Me?"

"I don't know your name."

"Oh, lass, ye be lookin' at th' best pirate ta ever sail the seas! Foxy is me name. Cap'n of the mos' beautiful girl, the Red Fox!"

"Alright. Foxy. Now if I may ask, why were you trying to kill me?"

Foxy went quiet. "Tha's a painful story, lass. Maybe some o'er time." It was strange how well these animatronics emoted. I could completely read their faces as if I was talking to a person. "Wha's yer name, lass?" He asked all of a sudden.

"What? Um… Lexi. Lexi Thompson."

"Well, I mus' say, it's a pleasure meetin' ya. Maybe ye be wantin' to meet the o'ers?"

"Others? You mean…?"

"The rest o' the gang."

"Um… I don't know… It's already so much just meeting you… since… you guys…"

"The others aren't mean, Miss Lexi. They're my friends. And we're all sorry that we hunted you down for a while."

"What happened to your accent?"

"What?"

"Your accent. It just disappeared."

"Oh! Uh, nothin'. I's nothin'. So do ye wan' ta come with me?"

I gulped. Was I really so insane? I grabbed a flashlight and stood up. "Okay."

I quietly followed him through the hall, and that's when I saw all the damage. A lot of his metal legs were showing, along with a few tears to show metal arms, a hole in his chest to show wiring, and his broken lower jaw. It was too bad that he was out of order. Otherwise he'd probably be in much better condition.

What was I saying? He was a killer robotic fox who'd been after my blood for three days. And yet I was following to meet other killer robotic animals who'd been after my blood. I guess that made me insane without any sort of common sense.

When we reached the dining room, the three animatronics had left the stage and were wandering until they saw Foxy and I. Then they just stared.

I looked at all of them, my heart pounding in my chest, and raised my hand in a wave. "Hi."

And then I was rushed by all three of the animatronics trying to give me their greeting. Chica reached me first and started to hug me. But for some reason, the animatronics were given super strength, and she was crushing my lungs. Finally, she let go, and Bonnie just gave me a side hug like a shy sixth grader. Then I was under Freddy's gaze.

Although all the animatronics were big, far bigger than a normal human, Freddy was the smallest. Foxy was the tallest of them, followed by Bonnie, then Chica, and finally Freddy. I wonder who came up with that. But nonetheless, me, at my wonderful height of five foot one, was very much smaller than the ones who surrounded me.

It was tight; were they about to change their minds and kill me? "I need some space." Immediately, everyone but Freddy took a huge step back. Freddy held out his hand. "Well, Miss. It's nice to meet you."

I shook his hand. "My name is Lexi."

"Alright then, Lexi. I'm glad there are no hard feelings."

"Um… well… sort of."

"What do you mean?" asked Chica in a warm, motherly voice.

"You all _did_ try to kill me. That um… creats a small trust issue."

"Don' worry, lass. We won' kill ya."

"I believe you _that_ much. I _did_ let you in." I sighed. "But there's more to it. If you were human, you'd understand, but it's hard to repair trust."

They were all strangely silent. Then Bonnie said, "Can we work to fix it, at least?"

They all watched me, waiting for my answer. "I have tonight and tomorrow before I'd have to sign on permanently. I suppose it's worth a shot."

The animatronics cheered, and Foxy picked me up bridal style in his excitement. There was something strange… a twinge in my chest I didn't quite understand as he looked at me, and in the feeling of his metal arms. But he set me down before I could process it anymore.

"What should we do first? Oh! I've got it!" Chica said happily. "Do you want to make pizza with me? You can have some."

I thought of Ben with a smile. "I've already had pizza today. Sorry, Chica."

"Well… tomorrow then."

"Sure." I looked around at the animatronics to see if they had any ideas. Then I felt a hand on my shoulder. It was Foxy. "Maybe ye'd like ta come with me to the Cove? I have quite the story in mind ta tell ya."

For some reason, even though he'd scared me half to death and almost caused said death, I felt more comfortable with the animatronic fox. "Sure." I looked to the others. "Then I can see the rest of you after."

"Sounds good." "Sure." "Okey-dokey." After their agreements, I followed Foxy over to the Cove, kind of excited. My older friends who'd been here before the Cove was shut down had told me that Pirate's Cove was their favorite place, and so was the animatronic inside. I could only think in excitement of what would await me as that twinge still remained in my chest.


	3. Chapter 2: The Animatronics' Talk

The smell of the ocean filled the air and the wind ran through my hair like my older sister used to do. The Red Fox was a beautiful ship and the day was calm. But, as it was still early in the day, it probably wouldn't be for too long. Captain Foxy was always looking for adventure, and there was no doubt today would be an exception. The Captain walked toward me, and I prepared for his usual greeting, or maybe he'd tell me what we'd do today.

That wasn't it. "Lassie? You awake?"

I started out of my doze. Right. Foxy was telling me a story, or trying to. I had started to doze. Again. After three nights of little sleep, and no adrenaline like usual, I was exhausted. I sat crisscross in front of Pirate Cove, elbow on my leg, propping my head up to watch the animatronic fox act out his story. "Go on," I yawned. "You'd just found the Flying Dutchman, and then…?"

"Well, the Red Fox stayed alongside 'er, and then I saw the most feared pirate of legend, Davy Jones. Me crew was scared, but I ordered them right where they belonged so they could…"

I tried to keep listening and be interested, but I was just too tired, and I nodded off.

"And I stabbed him _right_ through the heart, but he—" Foxy looked over at Lexi again, but this time she was slumped over, fast asleep. "The lass must be tired." The animatronic sighed, knowing he wouldn't be able to finish his story tonight. He went to the back of the cove, where the staff had prepared for children falling asleep during his stories. He had a large stack of blankets in the corner where no one would see them. Foxy grabbed one and went back out to find Lexi curled up in a little ball on the floor. Foxy placed the blanket over her and stepped out of the cove to find the others.

Freddy spotted him first. "Where's Lexi?"

"The lass fell asleep during me tale—"

"You don't need to use the accent around us, you know." Chica said, walking out from the kitchen.

Foxy dropped it. "Fine," he said. "Is this better?" Chica nodded. "Sheesh, you've always been so uptight. Ever since you were five."

"Uptight? Excuse me, Mr.—"

"Enough, both of you," Freddy said. "Now what was it about Lexi?" He asked Foxy.

"She's fast asleep. I think our 'games' during these past few nights have worn her out."

"Alright. Good. We need to talk. Where's—"

"Right here." Bonnie walked in from backstage. "What is it?"

"Since we're trying to befriend her, do you think we should tell her about—?"

"What?" Chica gasped. "Are you crazy? She'd flip out and run!"

"Maybe not," Bonnie said, wrapping an arm around her. "I mean, she came back tonight."

"That's different. She doesn't know about…" She gestured to her body. "_This._"

"No one knows," Foxy said. "Why can't she be the first?"

"_He _knows," Bonnie pointed out. Foxy glared at him. "I'm just saying."

"Well maybe _he_ is dead," Freddy said. "It's possible."

"Not plausible," Chica said. "_We're _still alive. And he likely expects us to be long dead." She was quiet for a moment. "Maybe… if the position were to open back up, _he _would—"

"_No!_" Foxy leapt at her, only to be restrained by Bonnie and Freddy. Foxy snarled at her. "Don't you dare think about that! I will _not_ let you attack her, Sarah!"

Chica backed up a few steps meekly. "It was just a suggestion."

"It's okay, Sar," Bonnie said. "We know it was."

Foxy relaxed and Freddy and Bonnie let him go. "Neither of you two will go after her either. Right? Jack? Xavier?"

"I won't. Promise," Bonnie said.

"Neither will I," Freddy agreed.

Foxy fully backed down. "Alright." He looked back to his cove. "I should go back to her. But guys, when are we going to tell her?"

"Three days," Freddy said. The others looked at him. "Today is the first day. Tomorrow and the next, we'll get her accustomed to us. Then we'll tell her."

"The day after?" Chica asked.

"The day after."

"Alright. I'm going back to make us food," Chica started to the kitchen, then turned back to Bonnie. "Wanna help me, Jack?"

"Sure. Either of you want any?"

"Of course," Freddy said.

"Could one of you bring it to the cove when it's done?" Foxy asked.

Bonnie nodded. "Sure."

After Bonnie and Chica were gone, Foxy started to his cove. "Just a moment," Freddy said.

"Argh. What be ye wantin' Xav?"

"Please stop talking like a pirate right now."

"Fine, _Xavier_. What do you want?"

"How much do you trust Lexi?"

"Whoa, boy. Deep question when I've only really known her one night."

"Just asking."

"Well… my gut says yes."

"Then three days it is. I wanted your opinion."

"Alright. I'm going."

"One more thing."

Foxy rolled his eyes. "What is it?" He almost growled in annoyance.

"Just try not to scare her when she wakes up. Okay, Aiden?"

If one could look into the fox's eyes at that moment, you might've seen the pain at the recognition of the name. "…I don't know if I want to be called that. It hurts."

"You call everyone else by their names," Freddy pointed out. "It seems fair."

"Aye," Foxy murmured quietly. "I won' scare the lass." And he left to go back to his cove. Inside, Lexi was still asleep, but semi-shivering.

"Cold, Lexi?" Foxy half-chuckled, still lost in memory. He knelt beside her. "Maybe if I tuck you in mo—"

The security guard snuggled up into his lap in her sleep, relaxing when her head was completely supported. Foxy sighed and sat down fully, watching her sleep, but also thinking. Three days from now she would know. She might run, like Chica said. But she might not. His thoughts flashed back. A small boy with red hair. Four other friends. Blood. A man, dressed in purple… Foxy broke free of his thoughts. They would have to wait a few days, for when Lexi would find out.


	4. Chapter 3: Bonding

"So… do you play any instruments?" Bonnie asked me shyly. It was the day after I passed out on the job, and he had wanted to be with me first.

"I play piano," I said, observing the animatronic. Each of them had their own unique personality; it was one of the restaurant's pulls. But Bonnie seemed so… unlike the others.

"Really?" The bunny's ears perked up. "We always wanted a piano player, but… well…" He glanced over at Foxy, who was hacking at a chunk of wood with his claws.

"Foxy wasn't really suited for the job?"

"Neither is… Chica, She… she has no fingers… she can't play."

"Such a shame," I replied.

"But we… we _have_ a keyboard backstage. I could go get it. I mean, if you'd like."

"Sounds fun." Bonnie stood up and went backstage, but I wasn't really prone to follow him. Just a few days ago, the animatronics were trying to drag me back there to kill me, so I was happy with just sitting on the show stage. Foxy looked up from his hiding place in the cove and waved at me. I waved back.

"I found it!" Bonnie was back onstage, messing with a few wires and blowing off dust. Finally, he beckoned me over. Indeed, it was a keyboard, bright yellow with red accents, likely to fit in with Bonnie's guitar. I stretched my fingers along the keys. It'd been so long since I was at a piano, and the cool, smooth brought back memories of warm fires and cinnamon and cranberry herbal tea.

I found the power button, turned on the keyboard, and experimentally played a middle c. It rang out, clear as a crystal, and perfectly in tune. A world of possibilities flashed before me. I could play anything I wanted to. I flipped through the music book of my memories, searching for something to play. I made my decision, set both hands on the keys, and played.

Moonlight Sonata by Beethoven. Its soft, aching melody flowed from the instrument, into my soul. Bonnie was beside me, watching. He seemed to relax as I played. But I soon lost myself in the world of music. My hands knew exactly what to do. I slipped up several times, especially on the repeating triplets, but it didn't matter. I was making music.

When I finished, I looked up from the instrument to see Foxy right in front of me. "Ahh!" I almost fell over, but Bonnie steadied me.

"Are ya okay, lass?" Foxy was by me in an instant, worried. "Didn't mean to startle ya."

"I'm fine." I stood up and nodded my thanks to Bonnie, and then noticed Freddy and Chica were there too.

"We heard you playing," Chica explained. "We wanted to see. No one's used that keyboard since… ever."

"It was quite lovely, Lexi," Freddy agreed.

"If only you were an animatronic," Bonnie said, suddenly more excited than I'd ever heard him, "then we could have you in the band!"

I stiffened. I knew he meant nothing by it, but Bonnie had just… said…

He seemed to realize it. His ears drooped. "I… I didn't mean… Lexi? You know I…" he started mumbling incoherently.

Something grabbed my arm. I nearly screamed before I realized it was Chica. "How about you come with me to the kitchen?" She said. "I can show you how we make pizza,"

"That sounds like a good idea to me," Freddy said, and Chica dragged me off.

"Don't be hard on him when you see him again," Chica said as we walked. "He didn't mean it. He just speaks without thinking when he's excited."

"Bonnie, you mean?"

"Yes, of course. Who did you think I meant, Foxy?"

_Sarcasm Huh._ "You guys just rarely refer to each other by name. I was just making sure."

"Alright. Well, we're at the kitchen! Come on in. _Mi casa es tu casa._"

It was quite the impressive place. Large fridges, huge ovens, and stacks upon stacks of food. I'd seen it before, but not while empty, and definitely not at night.

"So first, you get pizza dough from the freezer." Chica pulled out two balls of dough. One for her and one for me. "Now roll it out until it's flat." She handed me a ball and a rolling pin, then set to work on her dough.

"You all are very close, aren't you?" I asked.

"We've known each other for twenty years now."

"So, who do you get along with the most?"

"Ja—…Bonnie."

"Is that why you defended him so easily?"

"You knew he didn't mean it. Spread the sauce all over the dough while I heat up the oven."

"Sorry. It's just I don't want to think about anything remotely similar to being stuffed in a suit,"

"It's understandable. Spread it out more. The sauce is too thick in the left side."

I did so, and then we added cheese. Then Chica carried the pizzas to the oven and put them in.

"It will be _muy, muy caliente _when it comes out, so let me handle it."

The two years of Spanish I'd had in high school deciphered some of what she was saying. "Are you… this is going to sound weird, but… are you part Hispanic?

"Argentinian," she specified.

"Interesting. I guess so you're more racially diverse."

We talked more about the others, mainly Bonnie. Then the topic of Foxy came up. "Why is Foxy out of order?" I asked.

She stopped. "…Have you ever heard of the Bite of '87?"

The phone guy had mentioned it my first night. "Yes. Something about biting off a frontal lobe."

"It's very, very sad. _Y pobre Aiden…_" She paused. "If you want to know more, you should ask Foxy. But not tonight. There's been enough pain for one night."

It turns out that right then our pizzas were finished. And it was almost six.

"It looks like your pizza came out well. _Muy bien._"

"I should get ready to go. Say bye for the others, for me, will you?"

"Lexi. It's your last night, technically. Will you come back?"

I thought of Freddy, calm and kind, and Bonnie, shy and gentle and sweet, and Chica, somewhat temperamental, but loyal and protective, and finally, Foxy, brash and bold, loud and gruff, but with a tender side beneath it all. Friends…

I smiled. "Definitely."


	5. Chapter 4: Secrets Revealed

When I arrived, the animatronics were quiet. I sat in my office for half an hour, and there was no movement. Or I thought until I saw that the band members were talking. So I left the office and eavesdropped.

"He's actually going to tell her?" Chica asked.

"It's for the best, Chica," Freddy answered.

"…When?" Bonnie asked.

"He'll be going to get her any moment."

And speak of the devil, Foxy just appeared right in front of me.

"What are you doing out here?"

"Where's your accent?"

"There's no time tonight for such a thing," he said. "Now won't you answer me?"

"I saw you guys were talking. I wanted to investigate."

"Spy, you mean."

"I'm the security guard. I have to make sure everything's okay."

"Forget it." And the fox grabbed my wrist and started dragging me along.

"Let me go! Let me go!" I yelled, kicking at the robot.

"Is everything alright? Freddy asked.

"Fine," Foxy huffed. "Just taking her to the cove."

Freddy said nothing. The atmosphere was so tense you could cut it with a knife. Finally, we reached Pirate's Cove.

Foxy let me go. "Sorry 'bout that. I was afraid you were about to run."

"What's going on, Foxy?" I asked, rubbing my arm. "Why is everyone on edge?"

Foxy sat down and gestured for me to sit beside him. I did. "Do you know about the Missing Children Incident in 1987?" He asked.

"Yeah. I learned about it when I was older, though. It happened when I was a kid."

"What do you know?"

"Five children were lured away by some employee in a Freddy costume, he presumably killed them and fled. The cameras caught him, but the children's bodies were never found."

"The children… were stuffed into suits," Foxy said.

I was silent a moment. "Is that why… you guys wanted to kill me? Just like that?"

"No," Foxy said, "there's more. The children were stuffed into suits. But that doesn't mean they were dead."

"…What… do you mean?" And then Foxy stepped away from me. I saw his head come off, and then presumably the rest of his suit. Then he approached me again. The first thing to hit the half-light were metal legs, so I wondered. What was so weird? Then I saw the rest of the skeleton. A frame to hold up where the suit went. It rose to the face, with moving mechanical parts and ears, and metal arms stuck out from the sides. And then Foxy pushed up the head; it must've been attached by a hinge.

And there stood a man.

The first thing that hit me was the smell. It rolled off in waves. He must not have bathed in years. Dried blood was caked over his bare torso, and ratty red hair hung long from his head along with bangs covering his right eye. The left, which I could see, was blue. At the shoulders, the skin changed to metal, forming a socket for his arms. And I couldn't see it because he had ratty brown pants on, but I assumed his legs were attached the same way. The frame of the endoskeleton was attached to him by bars that went into his body at the waist, just below the shoulders, and the middle of his head. They must've been deep enough to stay, but just so so that they didn't hit anything important

The smell and the sight of blood and the painful way the skeleton was attached was all affecting me. I started to sway. "Lexi?" It was Foxy's voice. His actual voice. The one without his accent. "Are you okay?"

I looked up to see him reaching for me with his metal hands, and then it was too much. I ran out of the cove to the bathrooms, where I promptly puked into a toilet. Then I leaned against the cool stone wall and tried to collect myself. Foxy was a person. He was a person who'd supposedly died as a child.

Then I realized I'd run out on him. Who knew what he was thinking, but I should probably clear it up.

I started to leave the bathroom when I heard talking. "She left," Foxy said.

"I told you," Chica said, "I told you this would happen! But did you listen to me? No! _¡Idiotas!_" Then she continued scolding them in Spanish; the sentence probably was very curse-heavy.

"She… She's really gone?" Bonnie asked. "It must've been me talking about her being an animatronic."

"_No. No, amorcito._ We all knew this was a possible outcome," Chica said.

"There's not much to be done," Freddy said. "We'll just have to accept she's gone."

I stepped into the dining room. Four figures stood a ways from me, cloaked in darkness. "I'm rig1ht here," I said.

As one, they turned to me. Then something ran at me at the speed of light and scooped me into his arms. "Lexi!" It was Foxy. "I thought you were gone."

"No. I just wasn't… feeling…" the smell came back. "Please let me go. You smell…" Foxy immediately did so and then dragged me to the others. I turned on my flashlight and took the cap off so I could see everybody. There was Foxy, and the others had their suits off as well. There was a guy to my left, tall and skinny like a stick, with black hair and brown eyes. Beside him was a shorter girl who was still taller than me, with blond hair and green eyes. On my right was a guy with short brown hair, blue eyes, and was just barely taller than me and very muscular, like a football player. They all had ragged hair and their skin was all pale as a sheet.

"Lexi," Brunet said. "I think we should introduce ourselves. My name is Xavier,"

"I'm J-Jack," said the black-haired guy.

"Sarah," said the girl.

I looked over to Foxy, and looked at me, evaluating me. "Aiden," he finally said.

"It's good to meet you. The… real you."

"…Thanks," Bon—Jack said. "For not running."

"Well, she sort of did," Aiden said. "What was that about, anyway?"

"You guys smell terrible. I got sick."

"We do?" Xavier asked. I nodded. "Well, it has been about twenty years since we last took a bath."

"Ugh. TMI."

"TM-what?" Sarah asked.

"Too much information. You didn't know that?"

"We learn the language of those who come in. And I've never heard that one," Xavier said.

"Where do you guys get your clothes?" I asked.

"Whatever we find lying around," Aiden said. "Sarah is the only one who has to find a shirt, so it's not that hard, but at the same time, people don't often lose pants."

I looked over at Sarah's threadbare shirt. "It took forever to get this thing on under—" she tapped the endoskeleton—"this."

"Why do you guys stay like this? Have you ever called for help?"

"Once. But _he_ was there. And he said he'd kill us if we tried it again."

"Who is _he_? Do you know his name?"

Silence. "So, Lexi, why don't you tell us more about yourself?" Jack asked.

So I did. The time passed with us talking. It was quite enjoyable to have human beings to talk to. I didn't really have any friends after college and my parents and I weren't on the best of terms, so I avoided them. But soon it was nearly six.

Xavier got up first. "We have to get our costumes back on," he said, and headed backstage. I followed Aiden to Pirate's Cove, where his costume lay in a heap. He pulled on the lower half with practice, and I grabbed the head for him.

"We didn't freak you out too bad, did we?" He asked.

"Nah. It's just different. Not bad." Once the body was on, Aiden pushed the endoskeleton for the head back down and clicked it in place. I handed him the head and he put it on. Yellow eyes began to glow, and Aiden was suited up.

"…Aiden?"

"Yeah?"

"…There _is_ another incident I heard about. The 'Bite of '87'. Do you know about it?"

If it was possible, the Foxy suit seemed to be sweating. Then a bell rang. Six a.m. "You should go," he said.

"Am I going to get an answer?" I asked.

"…Tonight. Maybe. There are a lot of things to say about it."

"Alright. I'll see you then, Aiden." I left them behind at the restaurant. Poor little souls trapped to be animatronics. If only there was something I could do.


End file.
